Top Ten/Teaser Tuesday (3)

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's theme is Top Ten Books That Came Recommended.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa - I had only read one book based around faeries before this and wasn't particularly thrilled by it. I never picked up any books with faeries as the main character after that until this one was raved about so strongly in the blogosphere. It is truly one of my favorite series now, so THANK YOU blogosphere!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Yes, I actually love the series. I even like Breaking Dawn. My mom recommended it to me. I know, shocking! She read it first, then told me she thought I would love it. I was hesitant to read it because this was just before the first movie was going to be released on DVD. All I knew was that gaggles of teenaged girls screamed over it. Let's face it, I did not really want to be associated with that. However, I trusted my mom's opinion, and I'm thankful I did (even if I do get strange looks for admitting that I like it).

Why Girls are Weird by Pamela Ribon - Never heard of this one? I'm not surprised. I've never talked to anyone who knew anything about this book. It's a cute chick lit novel told partly through emails. It was one of those novels that was randomly recommended to me by a woman at a bookstore. This was my first chick lit novel, and it encouraged me to spread my reading interests out more.

More Than You Can Chew by Marnelle Tokio - This is a semi-autobiographical novel about a teenage girl with an eating disorder. It was my first real-life, in-your-face YA novel. It was a book club read when I was in high school. I can't really explain why this book was and is so important to me. I've never had an eating disorder, but I'd be lying if I said I had never thought of it before reading this. It's very thought provoking and great for discussion, so I have to thank my high school librarian profusely for bringing this book to my attention.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray - This was another high school book club read. I absolutely love this series and the author, so again, thank you high school librarian!

The Giver by Lois Lowry - This wasn't so much recommended as it was required, but I'm still very thankful for it. It was the first dystopian novel I ever read, and I've loved those ever since. I've read it twice since that class and love it every time.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley - I cannot remember who specifically recommended this book to me, but I love it. I read it during my freshman year at college. It was also my first vampire novel. My copy is now rather beat up from the times I've read it. It was so fascinating, and it's always colored my opinions of vampire novels. I've read several books by her since, including Rose Daughter which is another favorite of mine.

Goldengrove by Francine Prose - I'm not sure this is technically a recommendation, but I found it on the front table when you first come in the door of Borders (New Releases or something similar). It is such a poignant, coming-of-age novel. I never would have picked it up though if I had not seen it sitting there on the table because it's in literary fiction. While I pick up books from there that I'm specifically looking for, I don't usually just browse through it for titles.

In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke - This was recommended to me by a coworker. It was definitely outside my comfort area, but I found myself fascinated by the story anyway.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - This was a novel required for class when I was in sixth grade. It started my obsession with World War II, specifically the Holocaust. It is part of why I became a history major. It is why I've taken three separate classes based in this time period (Nazi Germany, Senior Seminar over the Holocaust, European History from 1918 to the Present). It was the first book that made me really understand the value of life.




This is a weekly meme hosted by Liz @ Should Be Reading.

"The one on the left is serious red. Looks like someone opened a vein and bottled it. Dracula'd go ape shit for that red." - pg 44

She was almost certain that something had been watching them from across the street. The crawling sensation in her stomach stayed with her all the way home. -pg 31

But even with the dim light and Tammy partially blocking her view, Lisa saw the horse. It stood there in the garden, black as burned toast and tall as anything. It looked directly at her, its white eyes glowing, steam blowing from its nostrils. -pg 15